Several Chinese coastguard vessels accused of making ‘aggressive manoeuvres’ towards Philippine fisheries boats.
The Philippines says it has suspended a scientific survey in the South China Sea after its fisheries vessels faced “dangerous harassment” and aggressive behaviour from China’s coastguard and navy.
The Philippine Coast Guard said on Saturday that three Chinese coastguard vessels and four smaller boats made “aggressive manoeuvres” towards two Philippine Bureau of Fisheries inflatable boats that were on their way to collect sand samples from Sandy Cay near the Philippine-occupied Thitu island on Friday.
A Chinese navy helicopter also hovered at an “unsafe altitude” over those craft, it said.
The two countries have been engaging in a long-running series of escalating confrontations in disputed waters of the South China Sea for years. China claims almost all of the strategic waterway, through which $3 trillion of commerce moves annually, overlapping with claims by the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
That claim has been declared as without basis by the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague, a decision Beijing does not recognise.
“As a result of this continuous harassment and the disregard for safety exhibited by the Chinese maritime forces”, survey operations were suspended, the Philippine Coast Guard said.
Despite the “dangerous confrontations”, no accidents occurred, the coastguard added.
In its own statement, China Coast Guard said China has “indisputable sovereignty” over the Spratly Islands, including Sandy Cay – which China calls Tiexian Reef – and that it had intercepted two Philippine vessels and driven them away in accordance with law.
China Coast Guard said the Philippine vessels had entered waters near Tiexian Reef without permission and attempted to “illegally” land on the reef to collect sand samples.
Thitu lies about 430km (267 miles) from the major Philippine island of Palawan, and more than 900km (560 miles) from China’s nearest major landmass of Hainan island.
Chinese forces have garrisoned the Subi Reef near Thitu.
Also on Friday, Philippine forces resupplied and rotated without incident troops manning a derelict navy vessel grounded on the Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratlys, the foreign affairs department said.
Manila had deliberately grounded the vessel, Sierra Madre, on the reef to assert its claim over the area.
The Philippine government raised the alarm this month over Chinese coastguard ships patrolling closer to the main Filipino island of Luzon, calling it an “intimidation tactic” by Beijing to discourage Filipino fishing.
China rejected the allegation, with a foreign ministry spokesman saying the patrols were “in accordance with the law”.
Manila and Beijing agreed during a round of talks on January 16 to seek common ground and find ways to cooperate despite their disagreements in the South China Sea.